Chapter 14
She’s definitely a strange woman.
‘Hey, you haven’t found a team yet, right?’
She suddenly appeared out of nowhere, made herself comfortable, and then—
‘Can you hit me?’
She made an incomprehensible and awkward request.
It seemed like something I could just ignore and forget about.
‘You’re strong, so you wouldn’t understand how I feel about wanting to do whatever it takes.’
But it was hard to ignore those eyes that looked at me so intently.
‘You can’t just sneak up on me like that!’
She was so dull that she couldn’t even sense a monster creeping up right behind her with its mouth wide open.
‘So don’t hesitate and come at me, you idiot!’
I felt like I shouldn’t dismiss those eyes filled with a will to survive.
“A team, huh.”
It was an unfamiliar concept for me, someone who had spent more time alone than with others. Yet, the thought resonated in my heart in a way that wasn’t unpleasant.
“Well, I guess that’s it for now.”
If we were to be a team, then I’d have to struggle to survive together for the time being.
It was like a moment when the dull, black-and-white pages of life were colored for the first time.
***
Xenon, who had been staring at me while holding his sword, murmured something to himself so quietly that I could barely hear.
“What are you doing? Are you not going to do it?”
I tilted my head, urging him as he hesitated.
‘I’m already tense enough as it is….’
Wait a second, is this guy…?
Is he trying to figure out the best way to hit me so it hurts more?
As I waited, tense and nervous, I felt my muscles starting to lock up.
Just when my patience was running out and my body felt like it was drying up, his voice finally reached me.
“It’s going to hurt.”
Xenon’s words were tossed out carelessly, almost casually.
A vein pulsed at my temple.
“You think I don’t know that? I’m aware of it, that’s why—”
“Don’t get hurt.”
“What?”
“I said, don’t get hurt.”
His unexpected words left me momentarily speechless.
We hadn’t known each other for long, but he didn’t seem like the type to say things like that.
“Hey! If you’re going to hold back, don’t bother! This skill only activates if you use your full strength!”
He struck me as someone who would hit me without hesitation or mercy.
Was he seriously planning to hold back?
I quickly clarified, thinking that a skill like this only worked with a proper impact.
If he didn’t mean to do it right, it would only hurt like hell without any benefit.
“Don’t worry.”
Xenon replied calmly to my anxious plea as he crouched down, gripping his sword.
It was like he was compressing all the power in his body, poised like an arrow nocked on a taut bowstring.
For a moment, a faint, dark aura flickered around him as he held his sword.
“I never learned how to hold back.”
The tension that had eased suddenly tightened again.
I knew it—what else did I expect?
Fine, I’ll endure it, and I’ll put this skill to good use.
With renewed determination, I braced myself and raised my guard.
And then, in that very moment—
‘He disappeared…?’
I lost sight of Xenon.
Thud!
Not long after, a heavy impact slammed into my left arm.
“Argh!”
Wow, what on earth just happened?
Am I flying right now?
I couldn’t believe it and flailed my arms around.
The wind rushed against my outstretched palm.
This sensation, this feeling of floating.
It was real.
I was really flying!
‘But wait, how is this even possible?’
How could he strike someone with a sword and send them flying?
For a moment, time seemed to slow as I floated through the air, feeling an indescribable rush that sharpened my senses.
Thud! Thud!
Of course, that sensation didn’t last long, as I soon found myself rolling across the dirt.
“…What just happened?”
It was amazing—being thrown at least five meters away—
‘But it didn’t hurt as much as I thought.’
Considering how far I’d been flung, the pain wasn’t as intense as expected.
Sure, my arm throbbed like I’d been struck with a blunt object, and it stung.
But for a blow that powerful, it was surprising my arm wasn’t broken.
‘I’m… okay?’
Confused, I lay sprawled on the ground, clutching my arm, when Xenon looked down at me and spoke flatly.
“That was a Blunt Sword Strike.”
“Blunt Sword?”
I tilted my head, prompting him to continue, as if explaining my confusion.
“A blunt sword strike is meant to hit and push. It’s useful for defense.”
Oh, so it’s like a self-defense technique?
Hitting and pushing sounds like it lacks a bit of a punch, though…
My disappointment must have shown, as he sighed before adding more.
“There are other sword techniques, but if you took those bare-handed, your arm would shatter, so be satisfied with this.”
And apparently, there were other techniques, too.
He must have just received his skills from his constellation, yet he already had them categorized?
Just then, a timely notification popped up.
‘Ding!’
[Sword Strike: Blunt Sword (A) mastery has increased by 5%.]
[Dragon’s Song (S) mastery has increased by 3%.]
He said something else as he extended his hand to me, still sprawled on the ground.
“As for the other techniques… we can talk about them when you get stronger.”
He was right. You can’t expect everything to work out perfectly on the first try.
Don’t rush things.
For now, I’ll just focus on what I can do.
With his help, I stood up and clenched my fists tightly.
“Alright! I’ll drain this in no time.”
At my words, the corner of Xenon’s lips twitched slightly.
‘Is he… smiling?’
“Straighten your stance.”
His twitching lips returned to their usual position as Xenon raised his sword towards me with a blank expression.
“Alright, come at me again.”
With this, I could become stronger.
I felt a surge of vitality throughout my body, as if I had found the only way to survive in this wretched world.
“Harder!”
Thud!
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Thud!
“I said hit me harder!”
It might look a bit undignified, but—
‘Ding, ding.’
[Sword Strike: Blunt Sword (A) mastery has increased by 10%.]
[Dragon’s Song (S) mastery has increased by 6%.]
[Sword Strike: Blunt Sword (A) mastery has increased by 15%.]
[Dragon’s Song (S) mastery has increased by 9%.]
The results were remarkable.
The notifications for skill improvements came instantly.
Feeling myself grow stronger in real time filled me with a sense of fulfillment.
Maybe that’s why—
“…I’ll kill you.”
I didn’t realize that someone was watching us with an uneasy gaze.
***
“Hah, hoo… The first day… huh, I think… ha… that’s enough. Haa…”
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I looked at the man standing in front of me.
“…It seems so.”
Unlike my disheveled appearance, he looked perfectly composed.
Xenon, still looking neat as ever, picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground.
“Did you obtain the skill?”
Was it because of the leaves spilling out from the blanket?
He brushed off the leaves stuck all over his head and approached me, who was sagging limply.
‘Oh right, the skill.’
Like a tired squid, I stared up at the air with weary eyes.
Ding!
Just then, a notification appeared indicating that I had acquired the skill.
[Sword Strike: Blunt Sword (A) mastery has increased to 100%.]
[Congratulations! You have fully mastered Blunt Sword (A) and acquired the skill.]
[The user’s Big Data has stored ‘Blunt Sword (A)’.]
[Dragon’s Song (S) mastery has increased by 60%.]
‘Finally!’
I had struggled so much to get this skill.
‘Each hit gave me 5%.’
To reach 100%, I had to endure a total of 20 hits.
Thankfully, I managed to land a few critical hits along the way, doubling my progress.
Had I taken all 20 hits honestly, I might have ended up in Yeriel’s embrace…
Or perhaps in Elistine’s arms.
Anyway, thanks to those criticals, I managed to get through with fewer than ten hits.
‘You did well, me.’
But then—
[Big Data]
Mimics and replicates the skills of opponents.
<Current Usable Skills: 1>
-Sword Strike: Blunt Sword (D)
‘Why is the rank so low?’
Just as I pondered this, another message appeared.
Ding!
[Acquired skills are automatically adjusted to match the user’s maximum potential.]
It was as if the system knew exactly what I was about to ask.
Furrowing my brows, I read the message.
So, the reason the rank is low is because my own body is too weak.
Is that it?
After struggling so much, I only managed to gain a D-rank self-defense skill.
It was a bit disappointing, but the idea that the skill’s rank would adjust as I grew stronger…
It meant that I could use the skill more effectively as I became stronger.
‘This will do for now.’
What mattered more at the moment was the constant stream of comments that had been popping up since earlier.
There were hundreds of them now.
I could no longer ignore them, so I reluctantly began to read through the piled-up comments.
—
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